Shoe with ventilated arch support region

ABSTRACT

A shoe includes a shell that has a bottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall. The bottom wall includes a front region, a rear region, and an arch support region between the front and rear regions. An upper is connected to the peripheral wall. Front and heel sole units are connected to the front and rear regions of the bottom wall, respectively. At least one of the front and heel sole units includes a midsole component and an outsole component. The arch support region has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is provided with a ventilation hole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe that has anexposed arch support region to reduce material costs and weight and tofacilitate the provision of a ventilating structure therein.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional shoe 10 generally has an outsole 11,a midsole 12 connected to an upper side of the outsole 11, a shell 13provided on and connected to the midsole 12, and an upper 14 having alower edge connected to the shell 13. The outsole 11 and the midsole 12are primarily formed from a rubber/plastic material to provide acushioning effect for the shoe 10. The shell 13 is primarily formed fromrelatively a rubber/plastic material to sustain the shape of the shoe10. The upper 14 is usually formed from a fabric or leather material,and is provided with an opening 141 so that the wearer can put his footinto the shoe 10 through the opening 141. The aforesaid conventionalshoe 10 in general suffers from the following drawbacks:

1. As the outsole 11, the midsole 12, and the shell 13, which togetherconstitute a three-layer sole structure, extend along the entire lengthof the shoe 10, material costs are high. Besides, the shoe 10 isrelatively heavy.

2. In order to keep the interior of the shoe 10 dry, various ventilatingstructures, such as ventilation holes, are generally provided in thesole structure to permit exchange of air. For instance, in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,823,609, 6,681,500, and 6,655,048, ventilation or breath abilityin the lower part of the shoe is achieved by providing a multi-layeroutsole structure, in combination with the provision of passages in thelayers and the use of functional materials. That is, for the two ormulti-layer sole structure, when ventilation holes are formed in theoutsole 11, corresponding ventilation holes have to be formed in themidsole 12 and the shell 13 as well, thereby resulting in a complicateddesign. Besides, the correspondence among the ventilation holes must beprecise, thereby resulting in a laborious and time-consuming fabricationprocess.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a shoe witha shell including an exposed arch support region that can beconveniently formed with a ventilating structure.

Accordingly, a shoe of this invention includes: a shell including abottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward from a peripheryof the bottom wall, the bottom wall including a front region, a rearregion, and an arch support region between the front and rear regions;an upper connected to the peripheral wall; a front sole unit connectedto the front region of the bottom wall; and a heel sole unit connectedto the rear region of the bottom wall. At least one of the front andheel sole units includes a midsole component and an outsole component.The arch support region has no midsole component and no outsolecomponent, and is provided with a ventilation hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional shoe;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of a shoeaccording to this invention, which has front and heel sole unitsprovided with midsole and outsole components;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment, but with anupper omitted;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating anarch support region provided with ventilation holes; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment taken along line5-5 of FIG. 4, illustrating the ventilation holes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the preferred embodiment of a shoe 20according to the present invention is shown to include a molded shell21, an upper 24, and front and heel sole units 26, 27. The shell 21includes a bottom wall 211, and a peripheral wall 212 which extendsupward from a periphery of the bottom wall 211, and has an outer bottomface 2111 and an inner top face 2110. The bottom wall 211 includes afront region 201, a rear region 203, and an arch support region 202between the front and rear regions 201, 203. The peripheral wall 212 islooped, and extends in full length of the periphery of the bottom wall211. The shell 21 further includes a toe cap portion 213 formed on afront end of the peripheral wall 212 so as to protect the front end ofthe wearer's foot during walking movement of the wearer. The upper 24 isconnected to the peripheral wall 212 by a known method, such asstitching or cementing.

The front and heel sole units 26, 27 are respectively connected to thefront and rear regions 201, 203 of the bottom wall 211. Each of thefront and heel sole units 26, 27 includes a midsole component 22 and anoutsole component 23. The outsole component 23 is bonded adhesively tothe midsole component 22, and the midsole component 22 is bondedadhesively to the bottom wall 211.

This invention is characterized in that, unlike the front and rearregions 201, 203 which are provided with the front and heel sole units26, 27, respectively, the arch support region 202 has no midsolecomponent and no outsole component. Therefore, the arch support region202 is elevated between the front and heel sole units 26, 27, and isexposed to the outside at the outer bottom face 2111, thereby impartinga new look to the shoe 20. Besides, the exposed arch support region 202can be conveniently provided with a ventilation unit 25. In thisembodiment, the ventilation unit 25 includes a plurality of ventilationholes 251 that extend through the outer bottom face 2111 and the innertop face 2110, and a function layer 252 attached to the inner top face2110 and spanning the ventilation holes 251. The function layer 252 maybe formed from a waterproof and breathable layer, or a screen layercapable of blocking entry of sand particles. In this embodiment, thefunction layer 252 is a layer of waterproof breathable material (e.g., afabric well known as Goretex®), as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Asshown, the ventilation holes 251 may have various shapes and aredisposed at the center and near the sides of the arch support region202. While the shoe 20 of this embodiment is provided with theventilation holes 251 and the function layer 252, the shoe 20 may stillbe provided with water proofing means, such as breathable waterproofinglinings or tapes, etc.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompassall such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A shoe comprising: a shell including a bottom wall, and a peripheralwall which extends upward from a periphery of said bottom wall, saidbottom wall including a front region, a rear region, and an arch supportregion between said front and rear regions; an upper connected to saidperipheral wall; a front sole unit connected to said front region ofsaid bottom wall; and a heel sole unit connected to said rear region ofsaid bottom wall, wherein: at least one of said front and heel soleunits includes a midsole component and an outsole component; and saidarch support region has no midsole component and no outsole component,and is provided with a ventilation hole.
 2. The shoe as claimed in claim1, wherein said shell is a molded shell.
 3. The shoe as claimed in claim1, wherein said arch support region is elevated between said front soleunit and said heel sole unit.
 4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid shell further includes a toe cap portion formed on a front end ofsaid peripheral wall.
 5. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidperipheral wall is looped and extends in full length of said peripheryof said bottom wall.
 6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidoutsole component is bonded adhesively to said midsole component, andsaid midsole component is bonded adhesively to said bottom wall.
 7. Theshoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein both of said front and heel soleunits have said midsole component and said outsole component.
 8. Theshoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein said front sole unit includes saidmidsole component and said outsole component.
 9. The shoe as claimed inclaim 6, wherein said heel sole unit includes said midsole component andsaid outsole component.
 10. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidbottom wall has an outer bottom face and an inner top face, saidventilation hole extending through said outer bottom face and said innertop face, said arch support region being exposed at said outer bottomface.
 11. The shoe as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a functionlayer attached to said inner top face and spanning said ventilationhole.
 12. The shoe as claimed in claim 11, wherein said function layeris a waterproof breathable layer.